1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic cigarettes. More specifically, the present invention relates to a battery charger and package for electronic cigarette components.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic cigarettes have become increasingly popular in recent years. Electronic cigarettes emulate tobacco cigarettes, but without the combustion of tobacco during use. Rather than burning tobacco, a fluid is atomized within the electronic cigarette, which emulates the smoke produced in a tobacco cigarette. The fluid may contain flavoring agents such as tobacco flavor, menthol, and others, to enhance the “smoking” experience of the electronic cigarette. Nicotine has been added to the atomization fluid in prior art electronic cigarettes. Since electronic cigarettes are not real cigarettes, they can be enjoyed in designated non-smoking areas, which are becoming increasingly common.
While tobacco cigarettes produce smoke through combustion of tobacco, electronic cigarettes produce atomized vapor using an atomizer. The atomizer consumes electric power, which is provided by a rechargeable power source within each electronic cigarette. Of course, the rechargeable power source is depleted during operation and must be recharged from time to time. It is know to use a power adapter to input power to recharge the electronic cigarette. Such power adapters are driven by a power supply, such as the familiar wall-plug transformer, or through an intermediary device that provides the transformer function. A problem with using power adapters is that they require access to an AC power main source for operation. In contrast, tobacco cigarettes are fully self-contained, requiring no AC power source. It is desirable to provide a similar degree of freedom with electronic cigarettes as well.
Tobacco cigarette users are familiar with carrying a pack of twenty cigarettes, which is commonly provided in the form of the flip-top cardboard box. These compact boxes are of a convenient size, which users have adapted to carry in a variety of familiar ways. Thus, it can be appreciated that electronic cigarettes system that might employ such similarly sized packages would correspond well to the tobacco cigarette experience. In fact, such packages exist and are used to carry various components of an electronic cigarette system. These components include elongated battery components, mouthpieces, atomizers, spare fluid and other items. It can be appreciated that such a package might also provide a power reserve, freeing the user from the need to access AC mains power for a greater length of time. Thus, it can be appreciated that there is a need in the art for an improved package for carrying electronic cigarettes and electronic cigarette components.